ECOtality and Sears expand relationship with EVCs in two added states

By Katherine Boccaccio

San Francisco -- ECOtality said Tuesday that it has expanded its current relationship with Sears Holdings Corp. by unveiling the Blink Direct Current Fast Charger stations at Sears stores in Tennessee and Arizona.

The stations enable Sears customers to charge an electric vehicle battery up to 80% capacity in less than 30 minutes.

As part of The EV Project, ECOtality said it worked closely with Sears during the site selection process, evaluating store traffic, EV density and availability of the DC stations. Currently, five fast-charging sites have been installed and the pair said there is opportunity to expand to additional Sears stores.

"We are delighted to see that the EV Charging stations are already offering a valuable service to our customers, communities and associates, and we are excited to see how many hours charging we can achieve in 2013," said Rajan Penkar, SVP and president supply chain, Sears Holdings.